Continuous loop mouse

ABSTRACT

A continuous loop multi-axis pointing position control device is provided permitting continuous rotation about an X-axis to provide generation of a first motion signal and a continuous rotation about a Y-axis to provide generation of a second motion signal to enable directional control of a cursor or pointing device on a computer screen and to substitute for track ball, joystick and mouse control devices.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A number of computer screen cursor or pointing control devices have beendeveloped in recent years which allow the user of a device, inparticular computers, to selectively position the cursor or pointingdevice in use at any X,Y coordinate pair on a computer screen orplotting device or any such graphical display.

Typical of the devices previously available is the trackball-typemechanism shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,404,865 to Kim, U.S. Pat. No.4,933,670, to Wislocki and U.S. Pat. No. 4,952,919 to Nippoldt. Thecentral feature of these type devices is the use of an individual spherewhich is supported on bearings permitting rotation of the sphere in anydirection about a central axis. Motion detection devices are biasedagainst the sphere which permit detection of sphere movement. Thedetected sphere movement is converted into X-axis and Y-axis componentswhich are then utilized to reposition a pointing device or a cursor.

It has also been typical of this art to invert the trackball mechanismpermitting the sphere to be suspended from the bottom of a housing. Thesphere or trackball is then rotated by movement of the housing about asuitable surface capable of providing frictional contact with thetrackball. Movement of the housing then generates movement of thetrackball which is then communicated to the pointing device or thecomputer screen. This form of trackball control device is typicallyreferred to as a mouse.

The trackball-type device and the mouse-type device present a number ofproblems to computer users and in particular users of portable or laptopcomputers. The mouse-type control device presents the drawback ofrequiring a surface of adequate size to permit movement of the mouseabout an area sufficient to direct the cursor into all areas of thecomputer screen. If the space available is of insufficient size it isnecessary to lift the mouse from the surface and reposition it in orderto continue to move the mouse in the selected direction to achievecomplete movement of the cursor or pointer across the entirety of thecomputer screen or plotter device. The unavailability of such sufficientsurface area during travel has prompted increased use of thetrackball-type device with portable computers.

Typically the trackball device is attached to the edge of the portablecomputer keyboard or embedded in some central location of the portablecomputer keyboard or included in a wand-type device which may be held bythe user in order to rotate the trackball. While the trackball-typedevices do not require the surface space necessary for movement of themouse-type device, the trackball-type devices do present a small activecontrol surface area for contact with the thumb or other digit of a userin order to achieve rotation of the trackball. The small surface area ofthe trackball often requires an increase in the ratio between the actualmovement of the trackball and the movement of the cursor on the screenin order to move the cursor from top-to-bottom or left-to-right on thescreen without an inordinate number of rotations of the trackball.

This can lead to very rapid and jumpy movement of the cursor or pointerand the inability to achieve fine control of the cursor positioning onthe computer screen. An additional problem found with mouse-type devicesand with side-mounted trackball devices is that the hand of the computeruser must be taken from the keyboard in order to actuate the mouse ortrackball. This tends to slow operation of the computer and canrepresent a substantial inconvenience to the user when repositioning ofthe cursor or pointer is frequently necessary.

Recently attempts have been made to avoid the drawbacks of theconventional mouse and trackball-type devices by incorporating elongatedbar-type devices at the base of the keyboard in order to permit a userto maintain keyboard hand position while utilizing the thumb tomanipulate a cursor positioning bar. Examples of such bar-typerepositioning devices may be found U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,618 to Culver andU.S. Pat. No. 5,270,690 to Oberg.

In the patent to Culver the bar control mechanism provides a continuousrotational type of movement as the bar is moved about its longitudinalaxis. However, when the device of Culver is operated in the plane of itslongitudinal axis it will come to a positive stop as the end of the rodcontacts a structural obstacle such as the keyboard housing or thedetector for movement in the plane of the longitudinal axis. Thisphysical limitation of movement in the longitudinal axis of the deviceof Culver presents the requirement that the device be brought intoregistration with the computer screen size or plotter bed size so thatwhen the lateral movement to either the left or right comes to aphysical stop the cursor will have reached the full left or full rightposition on the computer screen. It will be appreciated that such alimitation on the movement of the control device will result in alimitation on the ratio of control device movement to cursor movementand that a 1:1 ratio between these parameters cannot be achieved andstill maintain the rod structure within the confines of the keyboardhousing or structure of the laptop computer.

The device of Oberg provides multiple longitudinally extending belts.However, each of these belts operates independently from one another andmovement of one belt does not provide movement of the adjacent belts.Therefore, an operator of the device must select the particular beltwhich is in contact with the rotating wheel of Oberg, or more generally,the movement sensor, in order to effect movement of the cursor.Alternatively, if the operator selects the band of Oberg which is mostconvenient to the operator's thumb this band may not be in contact withthe pickup wheel or rotating wheel of Oberg and movement of the bandwill communicate no information and achieve no response in the cursor orpointer.

Therefore, it may be seen that the need is present for a cursor orpointer control device which can take advantage of the limited spaceavailable in a computer keyboard or laptop computer case to provide auser with a large surface contact area proximate to the hand while inthe typing position and which offers an uninterrupted or continuous pathof travel to permit selection any ratio of control device movement tocursor movement and to avoid any need to align the movement limits ofthe control device with the screen dimensions of a computer screen orother display device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide amulti-axis cursor or pointer control device which operates from a fixedlocation thereby avoiding the need to move the control device locationto effect signal generation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a multi-axiscontinuous loop or boundaryless input device for control of a pointer orcursor on computer screens and other graphical displays.

It is another object of the invention to provide a cursor or pointercontrol device which can effect a movement of the cursor or pointerwithout the need for user selection of a portion of the control devicewhich is contacting the movement sensor of the control device.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a multi-axiscontinuous loop device for control of pointer or cursor thereby avoidingthe need to align the control device range of operation with the extremelimits of the computer screen or plotter bed in order to provide for afull range of cursor or pointer motion within the movement limits of thecontrol device.

Another object of the invention is to provide a fixed locationmulti-axis pointer or cursor control device which provides a user with alarge active control surface area in comparison to conventional suchdevices.

The foregoing and other objects are not intended in a limiting sense, aswill be readily evident upon a study of the following specification andaccompanying drawings comprising a part thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front and right side perspective view of an embodimenthaving a continuous loop of adjacent spheres with the support coverremover for clarity;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 1 along line 2--2 showingrollers contacting a sphere for supporting the sphere and for detectingsphere rotational movement;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 1 along line 2--2 an showing analternative single roller configuration for sphere support and movementdetection;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a wrist support device and presenting theembodiment of FIG. 1 adapted to operate therein;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 with the supportcover included;

FIG. 6 is a front and right side perspective view of a flexiblecontinuous band embodiment of the present invention passing through asupport cylinder housing and having a segment of the continuous bandcovering removed to reveal the internal band tensioner;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view along line 7--7 of FIG. 6 showing thecontinuous band within the support cylinder;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view along line 7--7 of FIG. 6 showing asolid cross-sectional embodiment of the continuous band within thesupport cylinder;

FIG. 9 is a front and right side perspective view of a cylindricalembodiment of the continuous loop having a grooved cylinder forsupporting a plurality of movable continuous bands for communication ofX-axis movement to a display or recording device and the rotationalmovement of the cylinder providing communication of Y-axis movementinstructions to a display or recording device;

FIG. 10 is a front and right side perspective view of the embodiment ofFIG. 9 with the continuous bands in position on the cylinder;

FIG. 10A is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of two of thespacing shims having a band roller mounted therebetween;

FIG. 11 is a front and right side perspective view of the embodiment ofFIG. 10 with the detectors and support structure removed for clarity andshowing the abutting contact points of the bands within the center ofthe cylinder; and

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view along line 7--7 of FIG. 11 showing thebands in place on the cylinder skeleton and the spacing shims betweenthe band rollers and the band contact points.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIG. 1, the continuous loop or boundaryless-typecontrol device 10 is shown in an embodiment utilizing a loop of abuttingspheres 12. Spheres 12 are independent of each other and mayindividually be rotated in the directions indicated by arrow A or may berolled or pushed in either direction indicated by arrow B in order togenerate movement of spheres 12 which is then communicated to thevertical movement sensing means 14 or horizontal movement sensing means16. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the spheremovement in the directions indicated by arrows A, B conforms tonaturally anticipated responses for the cursor or plotter repositioning.For example, movement in either direction indicated by arrow B producesa horizontal of the cursor on a computer screen or other such pointerdevice. Movement of a particular sphere 12a-c in the directionsindicated by arrow A produces a vertical movement in the cursor of thecomputer screen or plotter. Spheres 12 are held in a support track 18which is in the form of an elongated circle. Support 18 may have itsshape varied to any number of circular forms in order to best conform tothe space available in the keyboard or other device into which it isincorporated such as the wrist rest shown in FIG. 4. It is onlynecessary that support track 18 be sized to maintain abutment betweenspheres 12 such that sphere movements, particularly in the directionsindicated by arrow B, are communicated to adjoining spheres 12 withoutinterstitial spaces between spheres 12 dampening the transfer ofmovement from a first sphere 12 to the adjoining sphere 12. Theavoidance of such dampening of the applied force is preferred in orderto provide rapid and accurate motion of horizontal movement sensingmeans 16.

Still referring to FIG. 1, it may be seen that spheres 12a-c rest uponand are in contact with pickup roller bearing 20. Roller bearing 20rotates about its longitudinal axis in response to movement of spheres12a-c in the directions indicated by arrow A. The movement received byroller bearing 20 is then communicated by rod 22 to a rotation sensor24. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, rotation sensor or counter 24 isa wheel having indicia 26 uniformly spaced about surface 28 of rotationsensor 24. Various rotation to electrical signal transducers may beutilized as are conventional in the art. A discussion of theconstruction and operation of three such transducers has been described,generally, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,933,670 to Wislocki and is incorporatedherein by reference. Indicia 26 may be of any type conventionally knownin this art which operate to make indicia 26 distinguishable fromsurface 28 when contacted by detector 30. For example, indicia 26 couldbe magnetic strips or light emitting diodes or voids or non-conductivematerial in order to provide the distinction between indicia 26 andsurface 28. Detector 30 need simply be responsive to indicia 26 in orderto generate a signal which may be processed and communicated to thecursor or pointing device to achieve movement of the cursor. A movementsensing means 14, 16 of the type indicated in FIG. 1 is generallypreferred for use in cursor pointer control devices as changes indirection can be quickly detected as well as changes in acceleration inthe movement in order to provide greater response and sensitivity in thecontrol of the cursor or pointing device.

Referring now to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, cross-sectional views along line2--2 of FIG. 1 are shown. In FIG. 2 sphere 12 is supported by two rollerbearings 20, 20a. In this configuration roller bearing 20 of FIG. 2 isattached to vertical movement sensing means 14 and roller bearing 20a isprovided for support of sphere 12. In FIG. 3, a configuration is shownwhich relies only on a single roller bearing 20 to both support sphere12 and to receive the movement of sphere 12 in the direction indicatedby arrow A.

It will be appreciated by those familiar with cursor control devicesthat these devices are exposed to dirt and dust and should contain ameans for expulsion of such material which may enter the control device.Expulsion of such debris is provided in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-5through the opening in support track 18 which permits contact betweenroller bearing 20 and spheres 12. As debris is encountered by thecontrol device it tends to move to the lower regions of support tract 18and is allowed to fall past roller bearing 20 and through window 36 thusfreeing control device 10 of matter which could interfere with itsoperation.

Referring now to FIG. 5, an exploded view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 isshown which includes support cover 32 which was eliminated from FIG. 1for clarity. Windows 34, 36 and 38 permit user access to spheres 12 andcommunication of sphere movement to detection devices 14, 16. Controlwindow 34 is provided in support cover 32 of control device 10 so theupper surfaces of spheres 12a-c may be manipulated by a user in order toapply lateral and rotational forces on spheres 12. Directly belowcontrol window 34 is vertical pick-up window 36 which permits contactbetween spheres 12 and pick-up roller bearing 20 and idler rollerbearing 22a. Vertical pick-up window 36, as previously described, alsopermits debris to escape from control device 10. Alternatively, or inaddition to vertical pick-up window 36, a groove in the bottom supporttrack 18 may be included to allow debris to fall through support track18 at all points.

Referring again to FIG. 1, horizontal movement sensing means 16 is shownpositioned above spheres 12 so spheres 12 may contact pick-up drum 40 asspheres 12 are moved in either direction indicated by arrow B.Horizontal movement sensing means 16 relies upon rotational sensor orcounter 42 which is similar in construction to previously describedrotational sensor or counter 24 of vertical movement sensing means 14.Motion of spheres 12 in the directions of arrow B are communicated torotational sensor 42 by pick-up drum 40. As spheres 12 are moved in thedirections of arrow B spheres 12 engage pick-up drum 40 by passingbetween walls 46a, 46b of drum 40 and frictionally engaging cup ordepression 48 of drum 40. As spheres 12 pass by pick-up drum 40 rotationof pick-up drum 40 occurs and this rotation is then communicated torotational sensor or counter 42 by rod 44 connected therebetween.

In the fashion described for vertical movement sensing means 14 anddetector 30 thereof, detector 50 of horizontal movement sensing means 16serves to detect the movement in rotational sensor 42 and this detectedmovement may then be converted via electronic processing which isstandard in the art into signals for generating left and righthorizontal movement in a cursor or plotting device to which detector 50communicates.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a typical computer keyboard wrist rest is shownhaving the control device of FIGS. 1-5 incorporated therein. In atypical wrist rest 52, edge 58 is placed adjacent the edge of thekeyboard closest to the user. In this configuration window 34 andspheres 12 are generally positioned adjacent and parallel to the spacebar of the standard keyboard. In this manner a user may maintain contactwith the keyboard and simply move either thumb downward to contactspheres 12 within window 34 to achieve cursor movement by pushingspheres 12 in the directions indicated by arrows A, B of FIG. 1. Inaddition wrist rest 52 has been provided with signal buttons 54, 56which are utilized in the same fashion as conventional signal buttons ontrackball or mouse-type devices. Signal buttons 54, 56 may be positionedas shown in FIG. 4 or adjusted to any other convenient space on wristrest 52. Alternatively one of signal buttons 54, 56 may be spring biasedagainst the bottom of rods 22, 22a of FIG. 5 such that a downwardpressure applied to spheres 12a-c operates signal buttons 54, 56.

Referring now to FIGS. 6-8, an alternative embodiment of a continuousloop or boundaryless-type control device is shown. In FIG. 6 acontinuous band-type device 60 is shown passing through support tube 62by way of openings 64a, 64b. Support tube 62 has a section of its upperbody removed to form control window 66. When continuous loop device 60is placed within a housing of any type a user can access band 68 throughcontrol window 66 in order to move band 68 in the directions indicatedby arrows A, B. A user can control the vertical movement in a cursor orpointer by rotating band 68 in the directions indicated by arrow A.Movement in the directions of arrow A produces a rotational movement inband 68 which is communicated by the band vertical sensing means 70.Vertical sensing means 70 is comprised of frictional take-off wheel 72which is rotated in response to movements in band 68 in the directionsindicated in arrow A. The movements generated in take-off wheel 72 arethen communicated to rotational sensor or counter 74 by rod 76. Asdescribed for the embodiment of FIGS. 1- 5, movement of rotationalsensor 74 is then received by detector 78 which, in conventional manner,detects the movement of rotational sensor or counter 74 and converts thedetected movement into electronic signals for communication to thecomputer cursor or other device.

When a user wishes to move the cursor or plotter along the horizontalaxis, band 68 is pushed in the directions indicated by arrow B and amovement in horizontal sensing means 80 is produced. Horizontal sensingmeans 80 operates in the same manner as vertical sensing means 70 andcommunicates the movement of band 68 to rotational sensor or counter 82via rod 84. The rotation of sensor 82 is then received by detector 86which measures the rotation of sensor 82 and produces a signal forcommunication to the cursor or plotter to effect its repositioning alongits horizontal axis.

Referring now to FIGS. 6 and 7, the construction of band 68 will bedescribed. In FIG. 6 a portion of band 68 within control window 66 hasbeen removed to reveal the interior of band 68. In the embodiment ofFIGS. 6 and 7, band 68 is comprised of a flexible covering 88 enclosinga tensioner 90. This construction serves to provide band 68 with a highdegree of flexibility while maintaining sufficient rigidity in band 68so as to resist the applied pressure of a user and avoid dampening ofuser applied pressure to band 68 prior to creation of movement intake-off wheel 72, 81. In FIG. 7 it may be seen that openings 64a, 64bof support tube 62 are flared to provide smooth egress and ingress ofband 68 as it slides through tube 62.

Referring now to FIG. 8, an alternative construction of band 68 isshown. In the embodiment of FIG. 8 band 68 is a solid flexible materialsuch as rubber or plastic. This solid configuration dispenses withtensioner 90 of FIGS. 6 and 7 as the solid core of flexible band 92provides sufficient resilience to resist user applied pressure.

Again referring to FIG. 6, it will be appreciated that take-off wheels72, 81 of vertical sensing means 70 and horizontal sensing means 80 arebiased against band 68 in order to create sufficient frictional contactto fully detect band 68 movements in directions A, B without slippageoccurring and without creation of undue resistance against band 68 thusrequiring a user to apply inconvenient amounts of pressure against band68 in order to achieve movement of band 68.

Another alternative embodiment is shown in FIGS. 9-12 wherein thecontinuous loop or boundaryless control device comprises a cylinderhaving multiple bands mounted thereon. The flexible bands can beoperated by a user to communicate horizontal movement to the controldevice or cursor and the entire cylinder supporting the flexible bandscan be rotated to communicate vertical movements in the cursor.

Referring now to FIGS. 9, 10 and 10A, control device 110 is comprised ofa cylindrical skeleton 111 upon which multiple flexible bands 112 (FIG.10) are mounted parallel to the longitudinal axis skeleton 111. Skeleton111 is composed of concavities 123 and guide rails 121 which serve tomaintain flexible bands 112 in parallel position. At either end ofconcavities 123 are rollers 127 (FIG. 10A) over which flexible bands 112pass. Rollers 127 serve to assist flexible band 112 in freely movingalong the length of skeleton 111.

Still referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, skeleton 111 is suspended on supportframe 113 which is attached at either end to bearings 115 to permitrotation of cylinder skeleton 111 about its longitudinal axis asindicated by directional arrow A. User rotation of cylinder skeleton 111on support frame 113 is communicated to vertical movement sensing means114 by rod 122 which is connected to rotation sensor 124. The rotationalmovement of sensor 124 is then determined by detector 130 which providesa signal for electronic processing and execution of cursor movement.

Referring now to FIG. 10, flexible bands 112 are shown in place onskeleton 111. Flexible bands 112 may be pushed in the directionsindicated by arrow B along the longitudinal axis of cylindrical skeleton111. This sliding movement of band 112 is used to communicate to thecursor the horizontal displacement in either of directions B which theuser desires. As will be explained in detail hereinafter, the sliding offlexible band 112 causes rotation in pick-up wheel 140 of horizontalmovement sensing means 116. This rotation of pick-up wheel 140 is thencommunicated by rod 148 to rotational sensor 142 where it is quantifiedby detector 150.

Horizontal sensing means 116 is mounted on support frame 113 by bearing146. Horizontal sensing means 116 is in constant contact with theflexible band 112 which is adjacent to pick-up wheel 140. However, as isdescribed hereinafter, all of flexible bands 112 are in communicationwith each other as a result of the abutment of the bands inside supportskeleton 111. Any movement in the directions of arrow B (FIG. 10) by anyone of flexible bands 112 is communicated to all other of flexible bands112 and thereby to the particular flexible band 112 which is adjacentand in contact with pick-up wheel 140 of horizontal sensing means 116.This communication of movement between flexible bands 112 permits a userof control device 110 to operate any of flexible bands 112 which areproximate the hand and still communicate the band movement to horizontalmovement to pick-up wheel 140 and to sensing means 116 for detection.

Referring now to FIGS. 11 and 12 the relationship of flexible bands 112and horizontal sensing means 116 will be described. As shown in FIG. 11,flexible bands 112 are mounted along the longitudinal axis of cylinderskeleton 111 (FIG. 9) and are spaced apart by a wedge shapedconfiguration of ridge 121. As may be seen in FIG. 12, this providesseparation between flexible bands 112 on the exterior of cylinder 111while permitting each band 112 to contact adjacent bands 112 within thecenter of cylinder 111. This abutment of bands 112 occurs at contactpoint 138. The abutment between bands 112 within the interior ofcylinder 111 permits communication of force applied to the exterior ofany one band 112 to the other bands 112 on cylinder 111 and permits allbands 112 to move in unison in response to an applied user force alongthe directions of arrow B (FIGS. 9, 10).

Referring to FIG. 12, the separation between bands 112 provided by thewide portion of wedge 121 on the exterior of cylinder 111 and theabutment of bands 112 at contact point 138 on the interior of cylinder111 is shown. As previously indicated this frictional fit between bands112 at contact point 138 communicates the movement of one band 112 tothe other bands 112. This also assures the communication of movement inthe directions of arrow B by any one band 112 to horizontal rotationalpick-up wheel 140 which moves along the outer edges of bands 112 (FIG.10) as cylinder 111 is rotated in the directions of arrow A in responseto the repositioning of cylinder 111 during the communication ofvertical movement by a user. Also shown in FIG. 12 is axle 135 on whichroller 127 moves during the lateral shifting of bands 112. Thecomponents of cylinder skeleton 111 may be composed of plastic or anysuitable lightweight material.

Certain changes may be made in embodying the above invention, and in theconstruction thereof, without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. It is intended that all matter contained in the abovedescription and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpretedas illustrative and not meant in a limiting sense. It is also to beunderstood that the following claims are intended to cover all thegeneric and specific features of the invention, and all statements ofthe scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be saidto fall therebetween.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is as follows:
 1. A position controldevice comprising:a plurality of spheres, an annular housing forsupporting said spheres and holding said spheres in adjacent annulararray said housing having a window therein permitting a user to apply agenerally lateral force on at least one of said spheres forcommunication of said force to said plurality of spheres to accomplishlateral movement of said plurality of spheres and said window permittinga user to apply a rotational force to at least one of said spheres toaccomplish rotational movement of said sphere, means for detectinglateral movement of said plurality of spheres, means for detectingrotational movement of at least one of said plurality of spheres, andmeans responsive to said detected lateral and rotational sphere movementfor generating a signal to effect repositioning of a computer cursor. 2.The device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said rotational movementdetecting means is a counter for quantifying the rotation of at leastone of said sphere.
 3. The device as claimed in claim 1 wherein saidlateral movement detecting means is a counter for quantifying thelateral movement of said plurality of spheres.
 4. The device as claimedin claim 1 wherein said means responsive to said detected movementgenerates an electronic signal to accomplish repositioning of a computercursor.